YANGON, Myanmar » A foundation named for Nobel Peace Prize winner and democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi will be based in Hawaii.

Suu Kyi announced the formation of the Suu Foundation during a speech Sunday to journalists gathered in Myanmar for an international conference sponsored by the Hono­lulu-based East-West Center. The foundation’s location grew from Suu Kyi’s visit to Hono­lulu last year.

Suu Kyi said the idea came to her two years ago when she heard members of the current government, made up of former military officers, talk about how Myanmar is rich in oil, minerals and other natural resources.

"Our greatest resource is our people," Suu Kyi said, "but decades of neglect have left the health and education systems in the country in shambles."

She said her priorities are health and education because if these are improved, Myanmar’s natural resources are "nothing compared to the capacity of our people to build our nation."

Honorary co-chairwomen are Laura Bush, who was outspoken as first lady about Suu Kyi’s house arrest and the military junta that ruled the country, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who made a historic trip to Myanmar as secretary of state after the government began democratic reforms and freed Suu Kyi.

Another board member is Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, who played Suu Kyi in a 2011 biopic.

"Just as Daw Suu has made a difference, you and I can bring hope to help and bring dignity to the people of Myanmar," Yeoh said at the kickoff luncheon. Daw is an honorific term in Myanmar.

Yeoh thanked Suu Kyi for the opportunity to be part of "building a nation, that issue close and dear to my heart."

The foundation will raise money to improve health care and education in Myanmar, beginning with Yangon General Hospital and Yang­on University. The foundation will also focus on helping people living with HIV/AIDS.

"We all support Suu’s vision for a better future for the people of Myanmar," said Miemie Winn Byrd, an associate professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Strategic Studies in Ho­n­o­lulu and chairwoman of the foundation.

Byrd said the seeds for the foundation were planted during Suu Kyi’s visit in January 2013, when she met with the Burmese community in Hawaii and urged them to help Myanmar as it modernizes. Byrd was born in Myanmar and immigrated to the United States as a child.

Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s independence leader, Gen. Aung San, leads the National League for Democracy, the main opposition party in Myanmar. The party won elections in 1990, but the military junta that ran the country annulled the election.

After the election Suu Kyi spent 15 years advocating nonviolent change toward democracy for Myanmar and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

She was elected to Parliament in 2012, and her party is seeking to change a clause in the constitution that prohibits her from running for president next year.

Her speech to journalists here Sunday on the challenges of a free press in emerging and established democracies echoed remarks she made at the East-West Center.

Suu Kyi said the media must not only report truthfully, but responsibly and consider whether what they report will improve the lives of the people.

"When you talk about greater freedom, you must also talk about greater responsibility," Suu Kyi said.

Suu Kyi talked about changes that have taken place in Myanmar since a new constitution was passed and the military dictatorship that ran the country gave up some of its power.

"These changes have not been that great or amazing," Suu Kyi said.

But she said one of the greatest changes that has happened in Myanmar is a freer press.

The media need to play a role in checking the power and abuse by government and help people in an emerging democracy like Myanmar learn about their responsibilities "to make sure a culture of democracy takes root in our country," Suu Kyi said.

"If there is no free press to let the people and the government know what is going on, those in power will become complacent," she said. "As it is, I think they’re already too complacent."

Asked about social media, where anonymous authors have posted vicious comments about her, Suu Kyi said people who speak online have the same responsibilities as journalists.

"We don’t know who writes these things," Suu Kyi said. "We can’t respond to each and every one of them."

In response to a question about violence between the Muslim Rohinga minority and majority Buddhists in Myanmar’s Rakine state, Suu Kyi offered no specifics about what can be done other than calling for the rule of law.

"If we want to resolve problems that are created through acts of violence, we have to make sure that the necessary actions are taken to ensure that these acts of violence do not take place," she said.

The rule of law is necessary for both sides in conflicts so they can confidently sit down with each other and talk out their problems, Suu Kyi said.